Power
by DemolitionLvr
Summary: When the rest of the Titans find out how much power Starfire and Raven have been holding back, how will they react? Oneshot. Pairing: a bit of Rae/Rob in the end.


**Disclaimer** (I'm getting better at remembering these) All characters, locations, and powers belong to DC. They are the bosses. Well, not my bosses, obviously, cuz I make no money off of this (God Damn It.)

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><p><strong>Power<strong>

The alarm rang through the tower and the Titans responded, the same way they always did. That much had not changed. Many other things, however, had changed, and they could all feel it as they gathered in the common room.

As they had gotten older, all of them, even Beast Boy, had matured. Robin had become Nightwing, finally escaping his sidekick moniker and Batman's shadow since Jason Todd had replaced him. Raven had become more open with her emotions and had even experimented with some romantic relationships, though nothing serious. Starfire had grown into her adult Tamaranean body- that meant more muscles than most men, but she made it look good. Cyborg seemed the same on the outside, but he had in fact improved much of his mechanics; he secretly considered leaving the Titans, but knew he probably wouldn't since he would rather stay with his friends than do anything else. They all knew each others' real names now, and used them more often than not- they trusted each other that much more.

Their computer traced an unknown threat to the center of the city, which Nightwing thought very odd- if the threat was in the city, surely someone would identify it?

When they arrived at the sight he found out why no one had clarified the threat- no one had ever seen anything like it.

Aliens were invading.

Of course, the citizens of Jump City had seen aliens before- like when Starfire had first come to Earth, the Gordanians had come to get her back- but none like these. They were not even vaguely humanoid. They looked more like plants in a way, if plants could move on their own and used vines to strangle people.

The Titans spent over three hours trying to fight the ugly, slimy- "Why do they have to be slimy?" Beast Boy had exclaimed when the goo got all over him- creatures. Their first priority was to evacuate the area and save those people already trapped in the vice-like grip of the attacking whatever-they-weres, as Beast Boy began calling them. It caught on; for example, Nightwing told Raven to"save the people over there from the whatever-they-ares."

The Titans did not tire quickly, thanks mostly to Nightwing's strict training regiment, but eventually they started losing ground, fast. Raven grew angry. She watched Beast Boy get smacked away by a whatever-it-was, and caught him in midair before he smashed into a brick wall. Starfire shouted an enraged battle cry as she blasted the branch with a starbolt and disintegrated it to ash. Raven put down her green comrade and rushed beside the alien princess she called her best friend. They both knew if they couldn't take care of these creatures here and now, the havoc they would wreak would be immense. They looked each other in the eye and nodded, dead serious.

The two female Titans flew forward. Flashes of bright green energy, visible from at least a mile off, were offset with black soul-self. The vine-like creatures were burned and cut away under Starfire and Raven's vicious, unrelenting assault, while the three males watched on with a combination of wonder, respect, and fear.

Who knew the two girls were hiding so much power?

The battle was over in minutes.

Once the creatures all appeared to be dead, mostly ash from starbolts or cut into miniscule pieces by soul-self, a black raven launched from Raven's body and surrounded the remains of the alien creatures. In the blink of an eye the creatures that had just been covering the entire city center and destroying fifty story buildings on all sides disappeared, presumably into another dimension.

Nightwing metaphorically picked his jaw off the ground and approached the two women as they touched down a few yards in front of the men. The other two followed behind him, a little slower, intimidated by the display of raw power.

"Meeting, now," was all he said before jumping onto his motorcycle and driving back to the tower. Cyborg drove off in his car, glancing backwards at Starfire and Raven. Beast Boy transformed into an eagle and flew off.

Raven looked at Starfire, who appeared to be close to tears, and sighed. "Kori, we knew they would get freaked out once they found out how much we've been holding back. But they're still our friends, and they'll get over it."

Starfire looked away from the road two of her friends had taken to get away from her and turned to Raven. "I very much hope you are right."

They flew slowly, hoping it would give their friends some time to calm down, and arrived at the tower last. Entering the common room, they saw the last thing they wanted to see: Nightwing pacing.

_That can't be good_, Raven thought. When he realized they were there, he whirled to face them, and so it began.

"You both have that much power and you've kept it a secret for years? How could you not tell me? We are a team, you should have at least told us that you hold back your powers, instead of blindsiding us with, with, with that! And I am your leader, I need to know what you are capable of! After all of the near-losses we've faced, you never found an appropriate time to say, 'Oh, by the way, I can render anything to ashes in a split-second!'"

Raven stood with her arms crossed, unimpressed with his anger. "Are you done?"

Nightwing glared at her and warned, "Not the time for your sarcasm, Raven."

She rolled her eyes. "This is as good a time as any. Do you really want us to fully explain the extent of our powers? Do you really need us to spell out why we hide and hold back?" Anger pulsed through her, and a window pane cracked.

Starfire, in her unshakable belief that friendship should never be tainted with fighting, attempted to mediate, saying something about calm discussions and pudding of some emotion that neither Raven nor Nightwing heard. The other two sat on the couch in the background, intently watching the two Titans' glaring contest.

Through gritted teeth, Nightwing said, "Yes, I'd like that."

Raven seemed to chew her words before saying them, calmly, no longer trying to antagonize her leader and friend. "Do you honestly think that any humans would accept Kori or me if they knew we could obliterate them on the spot? They would never feel safe in our presence. Even you three," she pointed her chin towards the two on the couch while looking Nightwing in the eye, "no longer feel safe with us. Don't deny that you're uncomfortable with what you saw."

No on said anything.

Raven nodded, honestly a little hurt that no one had even tried to fake it for the sake of their long friendship. She looked down at her feel before continuing, "My powers are as you have always known them: I have broadcast empathy, I can take on the pain of others in order to heal, I can teleport, and I can project my soul-self. It just happens to be more powerful than I have ever let on or allowed myself to use on missions. It is dangerous and volatile, and I didn't like to test the limits with other people around."

She stopped, still not looking at any of them. Though she had finished, they waited, as her mouth opened as if she had something more to say. After hesitating several times she said quietly, "I haven't told you," she took a deep breath and released it, "I can manipulate people's emotions."

When she saw the looks of shock, verging on horror, from the men, she continued defensively, "I never do! I'm just able to. To influence someone's emotions like that is morally repugnant."

Nightwing looked her in the eye and saw her sincerity and her fear of their rejection. He nodded.

He and Raven both turned to Starfire. Raven mumbled, "Your turn, Kori."

Starfire's eyes opened wide, and she looked up at the ceiling for a moment before turning back to their friends. "Yes, like friend Raven said, my powers are ever as they have been. Only that I can control the strength you did not know. Indeed, my starbolts at full strength can easily disintegrate a man."

This shocked the others, except Raven, who had long known this. They had both had to explain the dangers of their full powers when they switched bodies all those years ago during the Puppet King incident. Over the years after that they confided in each other- they understood each other when it came to controlling powers acquired in unpleasant arenas.

Starfire looked worried at their shock. "Friends, please do not fear, for I would never do such a thing! Each of you also are _capable_ of killing, but do not."

Her unintentional guilt trip made the men shift awkwardly. They saw the truth in her words and felt ashamed.

Starfire rocked back on her heels, with her hands clasped tightly behind her, and asked, "Friends, you remember my sister, Blackfire, yes?"

They all nodded.

"And how we both have the power to shoot starbolts?"

More nodding.

"Well, we are the only two Tamaraneans with such powers. Or the any two anyone with such powers, really. They are not natural- we were not born with them."

The boys looked confused. Starfire hesitated, seeming reluctant to explain. Raven walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, while looking at Nightwing- glaring, really- and asking, "Do you really want to force her to talk about it? It's none of your business, and doesn't endanger anyone."

Nightwing crossed his arms and said stubbornly, "The way_ you_ got _your_ powers endangered the whole world."

Raven scowled at him. "Well Kori isn't the daughter of a demon! If she doesn't want to talk about it, why would you force her to? Or are you just sore that she didn't tell you everything back when you were dating?" she sneered.

Angrily he answered, "That has nothing to do with this."

Starfire interceded, "Please, Raven, it is alright. I will tell them. I really don't mind." She smiled, and Raven let up. She kept her hand on Koriand'r's shoulder for support.

"All Tamaraneans are born with immense strength and the ability to fly. Blackfire, who is older than me by several years, was born unable to fly. My people saw her as deformed and weak, and she was not to ascend the throne of my planet. As the second of three children, I was raised to become ruler. Much jealous rivalry ensued between Blackfire and I. In her bitterness and hatred, she betrayed all of Tamaran to the Citadel, our greatest enemy. I was given by my father as a necessary sacrifice for peace." Her breath shuddered slightly, and Raven squeezed her shoulder. Starfire smiled at her.

"I was a slave to the Citadel for six years. Eventually both Blackfire and I were captured by the Psions. They wanted to-"

Cyborg interrupted, "Wait, Psions? What're those?"

Starfire cringed at the very thought of them as she explained, "They are _soulless_ alien scientists who experiment on living things. They are _terrible, awful_ creatures, who deserve not to live!" She paused a moment. "They did such gruesome experiments on my sister and I. As Tamaraneans, we absorb solar radiation- the sun's energy gives us our ability to fly."

"And why you have such a killer tan," Beast Boy joked. Starfire giggled a little.

"Indeed. Well, the Psions wanted to find out how much solar radiation a body could absorb before being destroyed. However, because we are Tamaranean, far from destroying us, their fallacious experiments gave the two of us the power to shoot out solar energy as starbolts. It was after I escaped that the Gordanians tried to bring me back to the Citadel in order to receive payment, and you all saved me." She went silent, looking for her friends' reactions.

Raven looked at Nightwing, who was looking at the ground. "Happy now, Dick?" she asked him.

"No, actually," he answered. "Actually, I feel like a complete jackass. I'm sorry, Kori, to make you bring up such a painful subject."

Starfire shook her head, "No, Dick, I am sorry that I never told the team all about my powers."

Raven sighed resignedly. "Yeah, me too," she admitted.

He sighed. He turned to the two team members on the couch and asked, "Anyone else hiding massive power that we should know about?"

They both shook their heads.

Nightwing looked out the wall-to-wall window facing the bay and realized the summer sun was setting. "It's been a trying day. I think we should all get some rest."

They all agreed, and he walked out. As Cyborg passed Raven, he put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Sorry for freakin' out on you, Rae. You got some wicked powers in you. I'm sure glad you're on our side. You too, Kor."

Both girls smiled at him. Beast Boy said goodnight to them and smiled, and they reciprocated.

When Starfire got to her room, she found Nightwing waiting at her door. He looked at her through his mask, his face blank.

"Dick, if you are here to apologize, you need not."

"Well that's a relief. Although, I'm really here to ask you something." Starfire gestured for him to continue. "Why_ didn't _you tell me any of that when we were dating?"

She smiled a little. "You are wondering because of what friend Raven said, yes?" He nodded. "She always knows just what to say to make you 'the tick.' She understands you far better than I ever did."

"Kori?"

"I didn't tell you because you wanted me to be the light to your dark. You are a very secretive person, Dick. You know this. You hide things and lie to your friends when you feel it is necessary." She cut him off before he could protest, "I do not mean that you are traitorous in your ways, merely that you feel responsible to solve all problems by yourself and never allow yourself to fail. It makes you rather brooding, and angry, and dark. And you thought that I could balance that. I could not. And I knew that if I could not make you happy as your light, as you wanted me to be, I could not make you happy if I changed myself or brought out my unhappy past. It is behind me and I wish to move past it, if not forget it."

Nightwing hugged her. "Kori, I'm sorry. You're one of my best friends, and I was an ass today."

"Indeed." He raised one eyebrow under his mask as if to say, 'hey.' She giggled. "Now you should go apologize to friend Raven also. She very much feared that everyone would dislike her after they saw her powers in full force, and fears your rejection most of all." She pushed him, hard, so he stumbled several feet towards the corridor that led to Raven's room.

Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, he raised a hand to knock on Raven's bedroom door.

She answered quickly, not wearing a cloak, and cocked her head at him sarcastically. "Come to ask my forgiveness, Bird Boy?"

He sulked at the nickname- to which she rolled her eyes playfully- and said, "Well, if you're going to be mean, no." He dropped the teasing act and said, "Listen, I really am sorry that I acted like such a jerk just because you guys surprised me."

A small amount of trepidation left her eyes and he realized that he hadn't even seen it until it was gone. She smirked, "Well, next time you're scared, remember not to act like a total ass."

"Scared?" he asked incredulously, "Who said anything about scared?"

"You were trembling in your pixie boots, Boy Wonder." She smirked as she mocked his old costume. "Can't say I blame you though; we women are quite fearsome."

"Well _that's_ for damn sure," he laughed.

She none-too-lightly punched him in the arm. After he rubbed it a little, he said, "Raven, can I make this up to you?"

"'This' being?" she asked with eyebrow quirked.

"This whole day," he spread his arms out wide to make his point.

Raven leaned casually against the door frame, displaying her whole figure to his eyes. "How?"

"Dinner, Friday night?" he asked nervously.

Her eyes narrowed a bit. "That sounds suspiciously like a date, Dick."

"That's because I'm asking you on a date," he persisted.

She quirked an eyebrow teasingly. "And then when we break up, will you head over to Titans East to ask Bumble Bee out?"

His eyebrows scrunched together as he protested, "No, Raven, it's not like I'm going down a list of Titans, I just-"

She silenced him with a raised hand. "Cool it, Dick, I'm kidding. I'm an empath, remember? I can sense what you're feeling."

She held her peace for a few torturous moments, biting her lip seemingly in thought, looking up at him, while he waited. "Uh, Raven, I'm afraid I don't possess your talents, so I'd appreciate an answer," he tried to joke.

She smiled, the way he had only seen on a few occasions. "Then I suppose you can make it up to me."

He grinned widely. "Great. I'll pick you up here, Friday at seven. Good night, Raven."

"Good night, Dick."

Once he was gone, Starfire flew from the other hallway, excitedly chattering as soon as she was within earshot of Raven.

"So did he ask you out?" she asked, practically jumping up and down in eagerness.

Raven nodded, and Starfire squealed in delight. _Oh, Great_, Raven thought. _Now she's gonna make me go shopping._

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><p><strong>AN: It wasn't until I thought about the genre I'd publish this under that I realized how much of a parody it really was. It makes light of many things that are always on my mind: how boring the cartoon Starfire is compared to her battle-loving nymph of a comic counterpart; Raven's inconsistent powers; and Koriand'r and Dick's relationship. Just food for thought really. Wrote in on a whim, I'm publishing it on a whim. Not my best work, but if you liked it, Review! Cheers_  
><em>**


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